Kuwait wins top architectural project award

The Al-Kout -Fahaheel Waterfront and famed waterfront project was selected from among 13 nominations from nine Arab countries.

The award will be presented by the Award Foundation of the Arab Towns Organization during an official ceremony that will be held in Qatar in April.

This wide-ranging project based in southern Kuwait's Ahmadi province, has contributed greatly to the vital development of Fahaheel's city center.

The project was instrumental in helping the city to become an important economic entity in Kuwait, with a distinct architectural and cultural identity.

'It is a great honor to be the only Kuwaiti company representing Kuwait in this important Arab competition. We believe that our achievement belongs to Kuwait and this recognition indicates the growth and development in the real estate sector in the country'

said Mohammed Jasim Al Marzouk, CEO of Tamdeen Real Estate Company.

Al-Marzouk added: ''By recognizing excellence in architecture and celebrating the very best in building design we are committed to establishing a benchmark for creative projects locally that also contribute directly to the growth of complimentary sectors such as new employment opportunities that focus on promoting architectural identity'.

'The Architectural Project Award', celebrating its ninth year, is awarded to the best project built in an Arab city which is inspired by Arab/Islamic architecture, where traditional architectural elements are employed and adapted to suit contemporary requirements. It illustrates a clear and conscious culturally influenced approach to the general design scheme.

Fahaheel waterfront (Al-Kout) project is a commercial, cultural and entertainment project developed over 200,000 km of land area that cost KD23m to build.

It is situated along the 1.6 km traditional Fahaheel fishing harbor combining the natural beauty of the sea with complimentary building architecture design which is a central feature of the community.

'The Arab Architect Award,' was awarded to the Jordanian architect Wael Al-Masri, associate partner with Dar Al-Omran the architectural consultant, for his lifetime achievement and commitment to the development of contemporary Arab/Islamic architecture. He has been a staunch advocate of such designs and research over the past three decades.

Al-Masri stated that the Fahaheel waterfront project is the first phase of Madinat Al-Fahaheel Development, which includes several construction phases such as Al-Manshar Complex in phase two and the five-star Al-Manshar Rotana Hotel in phase three. Madinat Al-Fahaheel also includes other project development aspects currently under design.

'The Committee evaluated this project according to selected criteria based on internationally recognized urban, architectural, technical, environmental, and cultural standards. I am delighted that we have demonstrated our high standards and achieved such remarkable results,' said Mr. Al-Masri.

Al-Kout has previously won several prestigious awards, including 'The Award of Excellence' in 2004, from the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Kuwait Chapter. Tamdeen received the 'Best at Retail in Kuwait Award' from the Kuwait Euromoney Real Estate Awards.

The 2007 'Leadership Award' was also won by Tamdeen during the Sixth Conference for Private Sector's Role in Development and Infrastructural Projects, in recognition of Al-Kout, one of the most significant BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) projects in Kuwait.

In addition, Dar Al-Omran received 'The Islamic Architecture Award', from Cityscape Dubai 2007, as well as 'The Ministry of Public Works and Housing Award' for Consultancy Work 2007, in Jordan for Al-Kout project. Dar Al-Omran also received the Retail City's 'Architectural Designer of the Year 2007 Award', in Dubai for its design of Madinat Al-Fahaheel. Madinat Al-Fahaheel was awarded the International Council of Shopping Centers' (ICSC) '2007 International Design and Development Award' during the 31st award ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Award Foundation of the Arab Towns Organization, based in Doha, also presented additional awards for 'The Architectural Heritage Award,' and 'The Architect Award'.

Nominations included 13 projects in the first category for projects in Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

The second category included 12 nominations from Syria, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Tunis, and the UAE. The third category included 9 architects from Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Tunis and Bahrain.

The jury was comprised of experts from around the Arab world, including Dr. Ihsan Fathi (Iraq), Dr. Ahmad Fare'e (Yemen), Dr. Hussein Dashti (Kuwait), Dr. Mostafa Mizewghi (Libya), and Dr. Naima Shamrook (Algeria).